University News
'REAL' Women Presentation Series
February 29, 2008
MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University Women's Center, in collaboration with the Western Organization for Women (WOW) and the Department of Women's Studies, will kick off Women's History Month with three noontime presentations as part of the REAL Women: Women as Researchers, Educators, Activists and Leaders presentation series.
Each 12-1 p.m. presentation is bring-your-own-lunch and open free to the public.
The Monday, March 3 panel, "Women's Issues in the Israeli Society," presented in the University Libraries Garden Lounge, will feature Zohar Bechar, Israel Fellow at the Hillel of The Ohio State University; Ofir Itah, Israeli emissary for Temple Israel in Memphis, TN; and Avigail Shpira, an Israel Fellow at the Hillel of University of Massachusetts Amherst. A short presentation by the speakers will be followed by discussion and questions with audience members, according to Nir Zernyak, Israel program coordinator, Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, which is co-sponsoring the program, along with Hillel and the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Bechar, who was born in Petach Tikva, teaches English to adults and works in a high school in Tel Aviv and in a Muslim school for underprivileged children in Yaffo.
Itah was born in Beer Sheva and raised south of Israel. She served in the Israeli navy for two years, including four months in Eilat on the borderline with Akaba (Jordan), and the remaining time as a trainer at the navy training base in Haifa. Recently she has served as a youth director in a community center in Eilat and has worked as a flight attendant for 'Arkia' Israeli airlines.
Shpira was born and raised in Jerusalem by an Israeli father and American mother. She has worked with Noam, the Conservative Youth Movement in Israel, and studied geography at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She postponed service to the army for a year and completed community service work, volunteering in schools and municipalities.
The Wednesday, March 5 presentation, "Influential Women in Environmental Sustainability," will be held in the University Libraries Garden Lounge in conjunction with International Women's Day (officially March 8), which celebrates the contributions and collective power of women past, present and future.
Women's Center Graduate Assistant Clarissa Cenci, a sport management major from Italy, will profile women who are leading the way in environmental sustainability in Canada; India; Kenya; New Zealand; Norway; Papua New Guinea; Somalia; Trinidad and Tobego; the United Kingdom; the U.S; and Uzbekistan. Women's Center volunteer Katy Davenport, a junior history major (Manhattan, KS), with minors in women's studies and international relations, will assist in the presentation.
According to Cenci, women make up one-half of the world's population, and too often they are on the front line in terms of poverty, sustaining communities and managing the earth's biodiversity and natural resources.
"Despite their role and know-how, women's contributions to environmental causes is often undervalued and ignored," Cenci said. "All around the world, women are involved in sustainability efforts in politics, education, law, literature and health. Each in their own fields strive daily to promote environmental sustainability and beautify our world."
Women's Center Director Janine Cavicchia added that the program, which ties in with this year's campus theme of "Global Challenges and Personal Responsibility: Environmental Sustainability," also will feature a display of books, tapes and DVDs by and about international women, including several specifically dealing with environmental sustainability, that are available for checkout from the Women's Center Resource Library.
The Friday, March 7 presentation, to be held in the University Union Sandburg Theatre, will be given by Janice Welsch, professor emerita of English and co-director of Western's Expanding Cultural Diversity program. Welsch will present "Silver Screen Scan: Where Have All the Women Gone?," an exploration of the representation of women in contemporary mainstream cinema.
According to Welsch, though women moved with relative ease initially as producers, directors, writers, editors, and actors within the film industry, as budgets grew, their participation in the industry shrank, leaving them on screen but severely limiting their participation in production and administrative roles.
"A look at the top box office films of 2006 and 2007 suggests that women have neither regained their prominence behind the camera nor been able to expand their on-screen representation beyond basic virgin/vamp scenarios in mainstream cinema," Welsch said. "Through 'A Silver Screen Scan,' I will explore this phenomenon and discuss with the audience possible causes and cures."
Hilary Churchill, a secretary in the Office of the Vice President for Advancement and Public Services and student in the Board of Trustees/Bachelor of Arts (BOT/BA) program, coordinated this REAL Women series as a Women's Studies class project.
Students, faculty and staff members who are interested in doing a presentation for the REAL Women series are encouraged to contact Churchill via e-mail at womenscenter@wiu.edu to request a presentation submission form. For more information, contact the Women's Center at 309/298-2242 or visit www.wc.wiu.edu.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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